The Forgotten Raptor: Tomislav Zubcic

With all the hype around are 3 rookies(JV, TR, and QA) we've forgotten one Tomislav Zubcic. Who I think has very good potential to be a real good role player.

The Good

2009 Nike Hoop Summit

Throughout the week in practice, Tomislav Zubcic displayed extremely impressive tools for a player his size, but at the same time, seemed to struggle with both his role on the team and a lack of mental toughness. To our surprise, he overcame both issues Saturday night on his way to a very impressive showing in the game. The Croatian forward's strong performance certainly helped his draft stock, as he was a big key to the World Team's victory, particularly in the fourth quarter.

With the skills of a small forward, Zubcic has the size and athleticism to become a match-up nightmare at the power forward position. He remains somewhat skinny at this point, but has really improved his upper-body strength over the past year. He looked to be a soft player in the practices, but had no trouble fighting for an offensive rebound on his first possession in the game, and taking a hard hit to get to the free throw line. Zubcic followed this up by create a nice look for Kevin Seraphin after handling the ball on a pick and roll, and came down the court a few possessions later showing off his smooth stroke from the three point line. Later in the game, the forward showed very nice agility and ball-handling skills attacking the basket off the dribble, especially late in the game where he finished a drive while taking a hard hit on the head from Renardo Sidney.

Tomislav Zubcic had his best game of the camp in today's All-star game as well. He didn't force anything, but he didn't fade into the background and revert to being passive either—which has been a major issue for him in the past.

He shot the ball with confidence, nailing the two threes he took and shooting 6/7 overall. He was also dialed in to the other aspects of the game too, though, which was good to see. He really utilized his intriguing length grabbing 6 rebounds and swatting two shots.

Zubcic is someone who has intrigued us for as long as we can remember – he saw his first DraftExpress write-up five years ago back in 2006, and many still remember his excellent Nike Hoop Summit performance.

Standing 7-feet tall, with very intriguing perimeter skills, including the ability to lead the break or make shots from beyond the arc, he's a unique prospect that surely caught the eye of many teams here.

On the glass, Zubcic lacks great fundamentals and must become better at using his body to create position. His defense must improve as well, though he does show good anticipation off the ball, and had a couple of impressive blocks during the game. If he continues to get stronger in his lower body, the Croatian big has a chance to become an asset on the defensive end of the floor.

Surprisingly, a number of scouts we talked to indicated that Zubcic has somewhat of a selfish reputation overseas, and might not play as effectively if he doesn't get an adequate number of touches on offense. We definitely saw signs of this during the practices, and Coach Beveridge got on his case about it early in the week. It worked out for the best, however, because it allowed Zubcic to find his role on the team, and he became a key cog for the first international victory since 1998.

On the other hand, Zubcic has been a distinct underachiever throughout his career, easily rattled and dropping his head at the first sign of adversity. His physical and mental toughness leave a lot to be desired, and that reflects not only in the inconsistency he shows from game to game and even quarter to quarter, but also in his defense and rebounding ability, which are well below average for a player his size. The fact that his wingspan is shorter than his height surely doesn't help matters here.

Wow nice vid. A 7 footer that could shoot from 3 is always nice. I also like his his move at 0:47, and his explosive drive to the basket at 1:22. He seems pretty athletic as well. I don't know if he'll ever end up making the trip to the NBA, or maybe his rights will be traded before he has a chance to play, but I like what I saw in that minute and a half

Nope not next year, he's one of those draft and stash players. Often times those players end up coming into the league years later, or they never end up making the trip at all. The rights to a lot of those guys are often traded to other teams before the player joins the league as well. I hope we'll see him with the Raptors in the next couple of years though because I really like what I've seen and heard about him

Colangelo is going to hype up this kid sometime in the near future when the Raptors have another mediocre season.

He's good though, no? I actually can imagine if everything about him would be the same except he'd be of american nationality, he would've been picked in top30. There always seems to be some underrating as far as international talents go. Take Manu for example.

He's good though, no? I actually can imagine if everything about him would be the same except he'd be of american nationality, he would've been picked in top30. There always seems to be some underrating as far as international talents go. Take Manu for example.

Before Zubčić can even dream of becoming an NBA player, he has to become one of the better players on his own team in Europe (Cibona). I did a little research and he had a rough year last year. His minutes dropped from around 24 minutes a game in 2010-2011 (over the various leagues he plays in: Euroleague, ABA, A-1), to around 15 minutes a game in 2011-2012 (Euroleague qualifying, Eurocup, ABA, A-1). His shooting percentages all took a hit and his production went down.

not expecting him to ever play in the league and wish we used that pick on machado, who might be able to play in the league. would have saved a little bit of money on a third stringer if he had of made the team and could have learnt from jose before he leaves.

i think we drafted him because no one would buy the pick and we had to use it.

I see a little Channig Frye or Ryan Anderson in him. I think with some added strength and a couple more years to gain consistency, he can be an NBA player. While I don't think he will ever be a starter, if he embraces a role he can have a Matt Bonner effect.

I remember a game the Raps won against the Bulls that caused Michael Jordan, in the post game interviews to say something like "Before tonight I never even heard of this guy. Now we're double teaming him?"

not expecting him to ever play in the league and wish we used that pick on machado, who might be able to play in the league. would have saved a little bit of money on a third stringer if he had of made the team and could have learnt from jose before he leaves.

i think we drafted him because no one would buy the pick and we had to use it.

With the way the game is now. There is always room for a fluid 7-footer that can stretch the floor in the NBA

I see a little Channig Frye or Ryan Anderson in him. I think with some added strength and a couple more years to gain consistency, he can be an NBA player. While I don't think he will ever be a starter, if he embraces a role he can have a Matt Bonner effect.

I like those comps. I feel like his best case scenario is Keith Van Horn and worse case is Austin Croshere.

Van Horn averaged almost 22 and 9 in his best year. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Not to mention worst case would be he never makes it to the league.

Van Horn played 42 games that year. He was never able to get back to that form again in his career.

Zubcic has a huge upside. He has the tools to become a great player at high level. An offensive weapon with room to improve at the defensive end, he needs consistency, maturity and toughness. Based on his skills and potential he could have been a first round draft pick but the mentality/competitiveness issues and his underachievement/underperformance hurt his chances. However, there’s always a chance a GM would remember what he showed during the Nike Hoop Summit 2009 and the u19 World Championship and use a late second round pick on him and hope he develops as he could.